Observing Activities

Observing stars is an activity at the very heart of astronomy. It is something everyone can do and requires no special advance knowledge of science or any special equipment other than the human eye and a dark, cloudless sky! Below are two observing activities from the HOA manual. Although they were written for teachers and students, anyone can participate in the activity.

• Estimating Magnitudes - Learning what interpolation is to guess a star's brightness. (beginner)
• Observing Delta Cephei - Making your first real observation of a variable star. (intermediate)
• Download Observing Zeta Geminorum Activity - online exclusive not available in the HOA manual.